USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > History of Elkhart County, Indiana; together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history: portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 33
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" POLITICAL REMINISCENCES.
" It may not be amiss to refer to some of the politicians who had the honor of representing this county in the Legislature of the State. The first election for Representatives took place in Angust, 1831, and Samuel Hanna, of Fort Wayne,-this county being attached to Allen for representative purposes,-was elected. In 1832 the Rep- resentative district was composed of Allen, Elkhart, St. Joseph, La Porte and Lagrange, and Geo. Crawford, of this county, was chosen its member. In 1833 David H. Colerick was elected from the same district. In 1834 John B. Chapman was elected. In 1835 E. M. Chamberlain, and in 1836 Elkhart county was entitled to a Representative alone, and Col. Jackson was honored with being her first Representative. The Senatorial district was represented by each of these individuals, except Messrs. Chapman and Jackson -- beginning in 1832 with Judge Hanna, and ending in 1839 with Judge Chamberlain. It is a singular fact that all those members of the Legislature are still living, and within the territory that formed the original district, enjoying the fruits of their labors, save one, J. B. Chapman, who is now a resident of Kansas.
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
"HE WOULD CONNECT TWO HEMISPHERES.
" It was at the session of 1834 that the Buffalo & Mississippi railroad charter was granted, which is now used by the Northern Indiana road. John B. Chapman has the honor of originating that charter, the object of which being to 'connect the two hemispheres,' as he said in a speech while canvassing the next year for re-election, as it is said; but I do not vouch for its correctness. The measure, however, was an important one, and was looked upon at that early day as a means that would soon be in operation to carry off the sur- plus produce that was beginning to accumulate in the country. Instead of having to ' ark' down the Elkhart and St. Joseph rivers, exposed to the dangers of sand-bar and mill-dam, the surplus pro- ductions of the country, and ' keeling' back the merchandise from the lake consumed by the people, or hauling it from Michigan City, we anticipated a direct route east, saving the dangers of circuitous navigation, and speeding the time to market. Accordingly in 1836 a company was organized under the charter, and the work commenced, subscriptions having been liberally made along the line of the contemplated route; but in this instance, as in a great many others, we commenced at the ' wrong end,' and ruin was the result, after having digged down a few sand hills between Michigan City and La Porte.
" It was about this time also that the State of Indiana embarked in a mammoth scheme of internal improvements, which was to bring a canal or railroad almost to every man's door, and to make all hier citizens prosperous. In that great scheme we were provided for in the shape of a northern canal, to be constructed from Fort Wayne to Lake Michigan. This enterprise was surveyed and located through our village, which raised the expectations of our people to anticipate that a few years of time would convert our qniet little village into a noisy and bustling city. Town lots situated along the line of the canal, which ran along the Bluff, Bank of Rock Run, became more valuable in the imagination of their owners than property in any other part of the town, and a number of citizens were induced to invest their means there, but were disappointed in the end. After having expended a consider- able sum of money in work upon this canal, it proved a failure, as did the whole internal improvement system of the State.
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
" ELECTIONS AND POLITICIANS.
"The elections in this county prior to 1836 did not partake of a party character to any considerable extent, men being chosen to positions upon their personal merits. But with the increase of population a new order of things was incorporated into our elec- tions, and candidates for office had to connect themselves with party organizations in order to be successful. The parties at this time were known generally as Jackson men and Adams men, they being the great leaders of the two classes of politicians into which the American people had divided. Accordingly, to advance their cause, the Adams men established at Goshen a weekly paper, called the
" GOSHEN EXPRESS,
edited by Charles L. Murray, being the first newspaper published in Elkhart county. A few months later the other party purchased a printing press and located it also in Goshen, from which was issued a sheet called the Goshen Democrat, and edited by Thomas H. Basset. The editors of these respective sheets advocated their peculiar politics with energy and ability. Some years afterward the Express was removed to Warsaw, and the Democrat hias con- tinned its labors here up to the present time.
" PRESIDENTIAL VOTE.
" The whole number of votes polled in Elkhart county in 1832 for President of the United States was 189. The number polled for the same purpose in 1836 was 759, and in 1840, 1,236, an increase of nearly 1,700 per cent. since the first election held in July, 1830.
" PRODUCTS.
"I have no means of ascertaining the amount of products raised prior to the year 1840: consequently I can give no statistics earlier than that year. The following figures will give the amount of the principal productions for that year: wheat, +4,504 bushels; corn, 98,862 bushels; oats, 45,787 bushels; hay, 2,002 tons; maple sugar, 73,697 lbs. Considering that a large portion of our county is heavily timbered, and requires an immense amount of labor to bring the soil to a state of productiveness, the showing is a good one to be produced in ten years of its first settlement. But in order that we may have some idea of the improvement and industry
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
in the county for the next ten years, I will give the showing of the same articles of production in the year 1850: wheat, 174,716 bushels; corn, 370,973 bushels; oats, 184,940 bushels; hay, 8,287 tons; maple sugar, 155,971 lbs .; making a net increase of nearly 400 per cent. over that of the year 1840. It is fair to suppose that the census of 1860 will show the same rates of increase, if not greater than that shown between the years 1840-'50, and if so, what an immense amount of money these articles alone, if sold at present prices, would produce, making in aggregate over one million dollars.
" Thus, fellow citizens, I have very hastily sketched a few of the early incidents connected with the organization and settlement of this county; but it may not be out of place now to refer to our present condition, and anticipate somewhat of the future.
" TIME AND CHANGE.
" Look around us and see what changes time has produced, not only in the physical appearances of the country, but in its social, educational and moral aspect. Instead of the foot path or Indian trail leading from one neighborhood to another, we have township and county roads crossing each other at almost every section corner; the forests have given way before the strong arm of the axman; the bosom of the prairie that was so luxuriantly covered with the wild flowers, has been made to blossom with the fruits that sustain life, and the red-oak openings made to yield profusely to reward the labors of the husbandman. Rivers have been spanned with bridges, towns have sprung up as if by magic, and the busy hum of industry is heard all around us. Instead of the old ' corn- cracker ' on Rock run, elegantly finished grist-mills liave been put in operation in almost every part of the county; instead of using 'puncheons' made with the broad ax, for flooring, the tall poplar and majestic oak is converted into such uses by saw-mills; in place of venison ' jerk ' and ' corn-dodgers,' our tables are crowned with richest edibles, and our sons and daughters, instead of being smoked to ' sooty black' in the old log huts reared for school-houses, have neat white frame ones placed at almost every cross-road. The spire of the church meets the eye in every village. and every neigh- borhood; the surplus produce crowds your barns instead of your stock yards, and our citizens look indeed like ' Man is the noblest work of God.' We are no longer compelled to 'ark ' upon, the river,
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
or draw by force of animal power, the surplus products of the coun- try ; instead of the old 'tantrum' sorrels bringing the mail once in four weeks, it is now received daily; in place of the music of the tin horn, we hear the shrill whistle of the locomotive as it comes dashing along with lightning speed on the iron-rail; the telegraph, with its wondrous power, puts us within speaking distance of the seaboard cities, and evidences of progress meet us on every hand. Elkhart county, from a population of 300 when organized, has advanced to that of 20,000; instead of 189 votes polled, as at the Presidential election of 1832, she gave at the last Presidential election, 1856, a vote of nearly 4,000; instead of one little village in the center of the county, there are seven thriving towns. She has become the most populous county north of the Wabash, save one; exports more grain and flour than any other county through which the Northern Indi- ana railroad passes; has the best built county town of any county in the State of the same number of buildings; her citizens support three weekly newspapers established within her borders; her school- houses are thronged with happy children, and her churches are filled every Sabbath with an enlightened and grateful people, return - ing thanks to the God of the universe for the abundant mercies bestowed upon them.
"Such are a few of the advantages that we as a people can boast of, and what may we not anticipate in the future? If so great a change has been produced with so many disadvantages at the begin- ning, within a period of 25 years, what may we not reason- ably expect with all the present facilities that now surround us, in the next quarter century? Although many of us who are here to-day may not live to see that time, yet it requires no prophet's ken to predict the future. With a body of land unsurpassed in the valley of the St. Joseph, with less than one-eighth of our tillable land brought under cultivation, scarcely an eighty-acre lot not capable of sustaining a family of ten persons, the water-power of our beauti- ful streams but partially improved, the mechanical skill of our peo - ple not fully developed, is it too much to say that Elkhart county will not be surpassed in point of wealth, population and moral influence by any of her sister counties in the State of Indiana? But what has produced this mighty change, and what will it require in order to realize our anticipations? No supernatural or magnetic power has been called in to effect this change; nature has not stepped aside from her ordinary course to bring it about; no fabled genii have been among us to aid in this work. What then
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
has produced it? LABOR, incessant, unwearied toil has crowned us with these blessings. For this, long days and sleepless nights have been spent; the sinews of the strong arm have well nigh been palsied for its accomplishment. Labor, that fiat of the Almighty to man, that by the sweat of his brow he shall live. LABOR, that power that moves the Universe, and causes the planets to keep step with the spheres. LABOR, dignified by God in the creation of the world. Labor, intelligent indefatigable, untiring labor will ever produce such great changes.
" Let us then teach our sons and daughters to labor. Let us impress upon them the fact that an idle person is always in league with the devil; that a lazy man is abhorred by the Almighty, and that He looks upon such as worse than infidel. Teach them that in order to be prosperous and happy, some useful occupation must be pursued; that to play their part in the great drama of life they must be virtuous, intelligent, educated and governed by the principles of justice and righteousness."
The existence of such a man as J. H. Defrees, who 21 years ago laid open the glorious little history which he and the strong minds and arms of his neighbors built up, cannot have proved otherwise than most beneficial. He was then a practi- cal man in every sense; apart from his distinguished connection with the early journals of the country, he in later years made the work of the future historian light by his collection of legends and historical facts, and his happy memory. In this course even, he has taken a share in contributing to human happiness, and it must be a pleasure to all to see that man who came here, nearly half a century ago, with the clear head and honest heart of a young jour- nalist, now one of the strongest pillars supporting the commerce of the country. There are others to whom special honors are due,- a hundred names that shine in the records of the time. It is only allowed us here to quote from their eloquent essays. In other pages their good works are noted, their political and business actions reviewed, and thus their names are transmitted in enduring history for the admiration of those who are to succeed them.
Dec. 13, 1872, Mrs. J. H. Defrees entertained many of the old settlers who inhabited Goshen in 1835. Invitations were issued to a large number; but on account of illness, and many other causes only 28 were present on the festive occasion. Among the guests were Mrs. Mercer, 74 years of age; David B. Pippenger,
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
73; Bishop Waugh, Edward Martin, Geo. P. Rowell and W. A. Thomas.
HAPPY MEMORIES.
The old settlers' meeting of 1879 was replete in good results. Though many of those who participated in the pleasures of the first great meeting of 1858 had passed away, quite a large number still remained to join together in admiration of the rewards which waited upon their toil and celebrate the forty-ninth anniversary of the establishment of their county. Many of the ancient people were called upon to relate the incidents of pioneer life, or review the history of the past, and as cach utterance of those great old men must claim attention, an effort has been made to collect their addresses on that occasion.
Wm. P. Martin said that he had been through this country as early as 1822-'3 and '24, before any houses had been erected in Goshen, and had camped on his several trips on the hill or spot where G. P. Rowell's foundry now stands. He drove always a four- horse team.
Geo. Nicholson stated that he settled in Washington township, August 31, 1829, four months after the first settlement had been made in that township, by Aaron Brown, and three others, on April 27, 1829. He has been a resident of Washington township ever since; was one of the voters in Concord township at the first election ever held in the county; had to go with his grist to Ford's mill on the Dowagiac, and in his route had to ford the St. Joseph's river with an ox team, and be careful to select, in the winter, a time when the ice was not running.
At the close of Mr. Nicholson's remarks a call was made for all persons present, who had voted at the first election in the county, to rise, whereupon John W. Violett, H. Stauffer, John Jackson, William Carmein, E. Carpenter and Mark B. Thompson, in addi- tion to Mr. Nicholson, rose up.
Col. John Jackson said that he had lived in the county 23 years; was a lieutenant in the army at the age of 22, in the war of 1812; was sent to assist Hull; had reached Urbana, where his company lay two weeks, and heard while there that Hull had surrendered. Col. Meigs heard that Fort Wayne was besieged, and made a prop- osition for volunteers to go and relieve it. His company went, and found the fort in charge of Gen. Harrison, and the Indians all dispersed. Troops were sent after them, among them his company,
James confiton
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
and they followed them to this county. They crossed Elkhart river at Benton, and made preparations to attack the Pottawatomie village situated where Mr. Thompson's farm now is; were divided into two detachments, one to approach the village through the woods, the other by the prairie. IIe belonged to the woods divi- sion. They found the village deserted. When he first entered on the prairie he thought it the most beautiful country he had ever seen, and resolved when the war should close, in case the Govern- ment should purchase the land of the Indians, he should come and make it his home. Ile heard in 1827 that the Indians had sold their lands to the Government, and, with a neighbor, came here to seleet a home. When he arrived he could hear nothing of the sale by the Indians, and went down to Beardsley's Prairie to see if he could find other country as beautiful as Elkhart Prairie, but was disappointed and came back. He had been told by one Rousseau, a Frenchman, that a treaty of purchase had been held at Carey mission with the Indians. Ile selected the spot where he now lives, and went to Ohio; he returned with his family, drove three yoke of oxen, crossed the Elkhart on the ice where the Benton now is, and found that Riggs was settled on his chosen land; he chose another place near by; Riggs concluded to sell to him, because he wanted a farm where he could have a sugar camp. He bought, and was to cook in the house and sleep on the floor for awhile. In the spring they made a large field in the prairie, and drew a dividing line by agreement. IIe commeneed plowing with three yoke of cattle; had a large and wide plow, and it would not do. Hackert had two yoke of cattle, and put them with his, and they plowed finely. They turned their cattle out at night to graze on the blue- grass which grew abundantly around the Indian village. They were plowing corn about the 12th or 15th of May, when, looking along to the sky, they discovered a storm coming up, heard thunder and expected to be delayed with rain; but they continued up their furrow until they met the storm, which proved to be fierce flakes of snow, and it fell to the depth of three inches or more. IIe then began to think that this was a poor country, but has since changed his mind. After awhile the air became filled with little horse-flies, which troubled the oxen so that they had to unhitch them. Mr. Hess went to Ft. Wayne, and heard there that many cattle had been killed by the flies. Finally a storm of rain came and killed all the flies, or, at least, they were gone after that. He went forty miles to mill, and the nearest blacksmith shop was at White
25
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
Pigeon. They used to have religious meetings at Riggs' honse. Some one asked him to request of Riggs the use of his house for this purpose, and he did so, and found Mrs. Riggs very much rejoiced, she being a member of the Church, though he was not aware of it before. They had meetings there often-prayer-meet- ings-and he attended them. Once he had some work to be done, and he went to White Pigeon, to the blacksmith shop, on Sunday, instead of attending the meeting.
HoN. E. M. CHAMBERLAIN .- Mr. Chamberlain came to Indiana in 1832, and settled in Goshen in the fall of 1833. He emigrated from Maine. Goshen was then an incorporated town, and the county seat of Elkhart county. The main body of the court-house was erected but unfinished. There is now remaining but one frame building in the village, which was here then, and that is the main portion of the National Hotel, which was built by James Cook, in the fall of 1833 or the spring of 1834. When he came to Goshen there were no bridges across the Elkhart river. He crossed it as a foot passenger on a sycamore tree which had fallen across the stream near where the best bridge now stands. There was a ford for teams one mile and a half northwest of town, close to the then farm of Thos. Thomas, and now the property of Hon. Robert Lowry. Since then many bridges have been built, and many had gone away. Chicago at that time was hardly known to the history of the country. It was only an old Indian trading post. Now it rivals the cities of both the new and old worlds. He had been told that Balser Hess had been 21 days in coming from a point in Ohio to Goshen, a time sufficient now to accomplish a journey to Liverpool and back. *
The meeting now adjourned for one hour to discuss the elegant and abundant supper which the settlers had brought in their bas- kets. Thongh the occasion was one called to celebrate the primi- tive tastes and early habits of the pioneers, yet it must be asserted, that nothing was seen in this supper that approached anywhere near to these, except the quantity of food devoured by the partakers of its bountiful delicacies. * * *
T. G. Harris, the secretary, called for all persons who were entitled to membership to come forward and sign the constitution. During the signing, Hon. T. G. Harris was called for, and said he had been here 25 years. He saw Wm. Wangh, Joseph D. Knox, Joseph H. Defrees, W. A. Thomas, Judge Chamberlain, Ed. Martin and Dr. Cornell, who was Assessor in 1836. the only
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
persons present who were in Goshen when he came. He said that Elias Carpenter was Assessor in 1840. Col John Jackson, who he had no doubt was a brave man, for when he had command of the militia in early times, had he been so required to do, would have fought valiantly, and himself, in 1872, were candidates for the Leg- islature. The Colonel and he electioneered through the county; they did a great deal of it. Once he approached one of the Cripes to ask him for his vote, but the old gentleman told him it was no use. " Why," says he, "Col. Jackson laid the first worm fence on Elkhart Prairie, and I am going to vote for him." The Colonel was elected. He had heard Joseph H. Defrees say that he had been ten days in coming from Shobe's to Benton, that he went back at night for fire to the camp of the night before. This was different now. He taught school in 1836 or 1837 in a school-house which had neither a nail nor a light of glass in it. They used greased papers for windows. This conntry had been very unhealthy in early times. He had known a family of ten persons sick with the same disease, to each of whom medicine had to be administered once in two hours during the night. He knew of other similar examples.
Dr. Cornell said he came to the county in June, 1834. Had been Assessor, as Mr. Harris stated, and presumed that why the people elected him to that office was that he had once seen a deer, took after it on horseback, and caught it after running six hours. They had confidence in his fleetness. His education was confined to that obtained in school-houses with greased papers for windows.
Mr. Elias Hess said that he supposed that he was at present the oldest settler on Elkhart Prairie, having settled there on April 5, 1829. He came from Ohio with an ox-team, and was 21 days making the trip. They had mostly to cut their own road. They were not four days free from rain during the entire trip. When he first entered upon Elkhart Prairie he thought it, in size, a large farm. As he pushed onward over it he found it larger. He settled where he now lives, and they had to pasture their cattle on the bottom, across the river from there. They tried to plow with one yoke, two and three yoke of cattle, but could not succeed. They had to go to Fort Wayne to have a nose put on the coulter of their plow, and a nigger's heel, and other repairs made. Then they attached seven yokes of cattle to the plow and it did very well. When they desired to find their cattle they had to rise early to hear the bell. They waded the river and launched out into the woods
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
with ears erect to catch its tinklings, and crowded on until the crackling brush would draw their attention to a deer, and then a turkey would gobble, and further on a wolf would howl, but no bell was to be heard. Thus days were consnmed and much ground traveled over before their cattle would be found. He had traveled a good deal, over most of the United States, Cuba, New Grenada, Upper Canada and California. He was in the latter place for some time, and was making more than an average of five dollars per day, but he thought he would come back to Elkhart Prairie, where women and vegetables grew. He thought he would rather live here, and of all the country he had seen, none of it was equal to Northern Indiana, and Elkhart township was the best of it.
Dr. M. M. Latta said that he had lived in this county only since 1840, but his father had come to the Hawpatch 25 years ago. The first time he came to Goshen he rode on a woman's saddle; there was no other kind in his neighborhood. He passed the other day a bridge that he had helped to build more than 20 years ago, and now there was a railroad embankment covering it, a cir- cumstance that he little expected at that early day, and which to him was an illustration of the progress that had been made in the country since then. The only thing that he ever drew in a lottery was some stumps in the public square.
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